The Howgills and Limestone Trail is a 76 mile long-distance walk from Kirkby Stephen to Settle through this picturesque and, in parts, demanding area of Cumbria and North Yorkshire - with a short diversion into Lancashire.

It draws its inspiration from Alfred Wainwright's Walks in Limestone Country and Walks in the Howgill Fells.

The route has strong associations with railways. It passes over the spectacular Smardale Gill viaduct, and close to the Stainmore Railway, the disused Ingleton and Tebay Railway, and the Settle–Carlisle railway.

"The Howgill Fells ..... are sleek and smooth, looking, from a distance, like velvet curtains in sunlight, like silken drapes at sunset; they are steep-sided but gently domed, and beautiful in a way that few hilly areas are ...... The compactness of the group is emphasised by a remarkable concentration of summits, often likened to a huddle of squatting elephants ....." AW on the Howgill Fells